We have done so much in London! First we went to our hotel, the British version of Day's Inn. It is very nice and centrally located to the London Eye and the water front. Francy, our director, took us on a long walk to see all the sights - Parliament, Big Ben, Westminister Cathedrale, 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, St. James Palace, Trafalgar Square, St. Martin in the Fields church and the Tower Bridge. We also took a bus tour and our bus guide was very funny as he explained what we were seeing.
Yesterday we shopped a bit and ate in Covent Gardens. Then the EF groups split up. My group, the TPS students were low on money, so we decided to see the free museum of Albert and Victoria. We took two double decker busses to get there. Keziah is quite good with a map, a compass and directions. We walked around the museum. I am pleased with how the girls budgeted their money and spent it carefully.
We took the Underground subway to St. Paul's Cathedrale to meet the rest of the group. Then we walked across the Millenium Bridge and had dinner in an English pub. We had fish & chips, followed by apple pie and custard. All very British!
I received many compliments on our TPS students. They are polite, kind and patient. They did not complain when they were tired or exhausted from walking. They didn't turn up their noses at the food. They got along in tight quarters and showed a gracious spirit. They co-operated with the program and me. The other teenagers' commented on this and said, "Homeschoolers are so much more mature".
It has been a pleasure to take homeschooled students to Europe and I hope to continue to do so.
Today we are flying home and looking forward to our own beds! See you soon
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Mardi, le 20 juilllet
For our last day in Paris, we got up at 5 am and headed out by bus to the Gare du Nord. Our train was waiting for us so we loaded all our luggage ( 50 large suitcases and lots of backpacks and handbags). We had a smooth 2 and 1/2 hour ride from Paris, under the English Channel to London.
We pulled into St. Pancras station and unloaded all our bags. At that point we said good-by to Mamie and Anna Maria. They met their friends and will be staying with them until Saturday. We miss them!
A bus took us immediately on a tour of London. The guide was funny and personable. He explained much of the history of the city. Why is it so modern with large glass buildings? Because of the burning and the bombings. ( Your students can explain).
We were quite glad to get to our hotel - the English version of Days Inn. It is very centrally located and it was easy to find lunch nearby. Francy took us on a long walk which included 2 stops on the Underground until we got to dinner. After dinner we were so tired that most of us came back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. Doug and Emily went to the London Eye. We'll find out tomorrow how that went.
G'night, mates!
We pulled into St. Pancras station and unloaded all our bags. At that point we said good-by to Mamie and Anna Maria. They met their friends and will be staying with them until Saturday. We miss them!
A bus took us immediately on a tour of London. The guide was funny and personable. He explained much of the history of the city. Why is it so modern with large glass buildings? Because of the burning and the bombings. ( Your students can explain).
We were quite glad to get to our hotel - the English version of Days Inn. It is very centrally located and it was easy to find lunch nearby. Francy took us on a long walk which included 2 stops on the Underground until we got to dinner. After dinner we were so tired that most of us came back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. Doug and Emily went to the London Eye. We'll find out tomorrow how that went.
G'night, mates!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Lundi le 19 juillet
Bonjour! We got up at 6 am this morning to make our way back to Paris. Our bus
brought us smoothly and safely to the Novotel on the outskirts of Paris. Most of us slept on the journey!
Once here, we put our bags in our rooms and then took the metro to the Louvre. It was crowded, but we saw the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace (carved by the Greeks) and le Vénus de Milo ( also carved by the Greeks). After that, we wandered through gallery after gallery.
At a pre-arranged time we met to take the metro to dinner. We ate Alsatian pizza. It was a light meal and early for us ( 5 pm) because we had a date with the Iron Lady. A private coach took us to the Eiffel Tower. It also was crowded and busy. We had group reservations to go up to the top and then take a Seine boat ride. It's a beautiful warm summer evening - perfect for picture taking. This celebrates our last night in Paris.
Tomorrow - very early - we board the train to London. Au revoir la France!
brought us smoothly and safely to the Novotel on the outskirts of Paris. Most of us slept on the journey!
Once here, we put our bags in our rooms and then took the metro to the Louvre. It was crowded, but we saw the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace (carved by the Greeks) and le Vénus de Milo ( also carved by the Greeks). After that, we wandered through gallery after gallery.
At a pre-arranged time we met to take the metro to dinner. We ate Alsatian pizza. It was a light meal and early for us ( 5 pm) because we had a date with the Iron Lady. A private coach took us to the Eiffel Tower. It also was crowded and busy. We had group reservations to go up to the top and then take a Seine boat ride. It's a beautiful warm summer evening - perfect for picture taking. This celebrates our last night in Paris.
Tomorrow - very early - we board the train to London. Au revoir la France!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Dimanche, le 18 juillet
Our days are so full! It is hard to remember back to this morning. We stayed in a nice hotel in the countryside of Bretagne. The chain is called Campanile and it was very peaceful Amber looked out the window of her room at the cornfield and felt she was at home in Ohio!
Gilbert, our bus driver, drove us to St. Malo where we met our tour guide, Coco. She told us the history of St. Malo and walked us around the walls. We all agreed we 'd like to live in this fortified city on the coast! We had free time for lunch so several of us bought sandwiches and went down to the beach. The tides here are the strongest in Europe. We ate our lunch, had a short prayer time and realized that the water was lapping at our toes. Time to move to higher ground! Several of the students went in to swim or at least get their feet wet. It was cold, but the bright sun made it inviting.
The rest of the time we walked on the ramparts and explored the city. There were so many cute little shops and outdoor cafes!
In the afternoon we drove to Mt. St. Michel - pictured on our French 2 textbook. We walked up the narrow road to the top and toured the Abbaye. A singing group happened to be giving a small concert when we were in the church. The acoustics were terrific. Then we walked through the cloisters, the refectoire, the scriptorium and the place where the monks used to receive pilgrims. It was a long way down to the bottom of the hill for the bathrooms ( and you had to pay!) The bus was parked out near the sand. We were warned about the dangerous tides and quicksand that surrounds the island.
I have begun uploading my pictures to Facebook. Doug Morris has taken many photos of the group. We hope to all exchange pictures later.
Gilbert, our bus driver, drove us to St. Malo where we met our tour guide, Coco. She told us the history of St. Malo and walked us around the walls. We all agreed we 'd like to live in this fortified city on the coast! We had free time for lunch so several of us bought sandwiches and went down to the beach. The tides here are the strongest in Europe. We ate our lunch, had a short prayer time and realized that the water was lapping at our toes. Time to move to higher ground! Several of the students went in to swim or at least get their feet wet. It was cold, but the bright sun made it inviting.
The rest of the time we walked on the ramparts and explored the city. There were so many cute little shops and outdoor cafes!
In the afternoon we drove to Mt. St. Michel - pictured on our French 2 textbook. We walked up the narrow road to the top and toured the Abbaye. A singing group happened to be giving a small concert when we were in the church. The acoustics were terrific. Then we walked through the cloisters, the refectoire, the scriptorium and the place where the monks used to receive pilgrims. It was a long way down to the bottom of the hill for the bathrooms ( and you had to pay!) The bus was parked out near the sand. We were warned about the dangerous tides and quicksand that surrounds the island.
I have begun uploading my pictures to Facebook. Doug Morris has taken many photos of the group. We hope to all exchange pictures later.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Samedi - le 17 juillet
Where are we? La Bretagne! How did we get here? It's been a long day and a lot of driving. We were in Rouen, which is in Normandie and we drove to the Caen Memorial. This explains the World Wars that France has had.
We started the day by driving to the Caen Memorial. We learned about the wars in France, starting with a movie. It was real footage of D-day and showed the invasion and re-taking of France by the Allies. Then we wandered around the museum and looked at memorabilia about the wars. There were staggering statistics and sobering pictures of the Holocaust.
Another TPS family - the Davises- who live in Belgium are on holiday in Normandie. So, we met up and had lunch in Arrovanches. Then we visited the American cemetery and le Pointe du Hoc where the Allies bombed the German bunkers. The students learned so much and took many pictures.
Dinner was in an old Abbaye and now we are in a Campanile hotel. Nous sommes fatigués!! It has been an emotional day.
We started the day by driving to the Caen Memorial. We learned about the wars in France, starting with a movie. It was real footage of D-day and showed the invasion and re-taking of France by the Allies. Then we wandered around the museum and looked at memorabilia about the wars. There were staggering statistics and sobering pictures of the Holocaust.
Another TPS family - the Davises- who live in Belgium are on holiday in Normandie. So, we met up and had lunch in Arrovanches. Then we visited the American cemetery and le Pointe du Hoc where the Allies bombed the German bunkers. The students learned so much and took many pictures.
Dinner was in an old Abbaye and now we are in a Campanile hotel. Nous sommes fatigués!! It has been an emotional day.
Friday, July 16, 2010
July 16
These are long days and we are losing track of the dates and days of the week.
Today we got on the bus and headed for the coast of Normandy. We stopped at Honfleur to visit this adorable seaside village. Doug, Emily, Barbara, Colette , Keziah and I had lunch in a café by the port. I have moules-frites which is the speciality of the region. I was very happy with it, but nobody else really wanted to help me eat the mussles!
In the afternoon we drove to Une Fromagerie and learned how to make goat's cheese. At the end a few of us tried the chocolate made from goat's milk. We made a quick stop at Etretat to see the beach. It is very stoney, but the girls wanted to go in the water anyway. It was cold and the surf as crashing on the shore. They had a ball in the waves and we got some good pictures. Keziah had done a report on the cliffs and most of the students remembered this beach mentioned in a BJU test. So it was cool to see it.
We drove back to Rouen for another night at this hotel. It is our favorite so far - the church bells across the square wake us up. Dinner was at a restaurant with food from Chili - different!
Be sure to ask Mamie about:
1. The bus leaving while she was in the bathroom
2. Her new makeup of cheese fungi
Be sure to ask Amber about:
1.how the showers work in Rouen
2. the interesting toilet in Honfleur
Today we got on the bus and headed for the coast of Normandy. We stopped at Honfleur to visit this adorable seaside village. Doug, Emily, Barbara, Colette , Keziah and I had lunch in a café by the port. I have moules-frites which is the speciality of the region. I was very happy with it, but nobody else really wanted to help me eat the mussles!
In the afternoon we drove to Une Fromagerie and learned how to make goat's cheese. At the end a few of us tried the chocolate made from goat's milk. We made a quick stop at Etretat to see the beach. It is very stoney, but the girls wanted to go in the water anyway. It was cold and the surf as crashing on the shore. They had a ball in the waves and we got some good pictures. Keziah had done a report on the cliffs and most of the students remembered this beach mentioned in a BJU test. So it was cool to see it.
We drove back to Rouen for another night at this hotel. It is our favorite so far - the church bells across the square wake us up. Dinner was at a restaurant with food from Chili - different!
Be sure to ask Mamie about:
1. The bus leaving while she was in the bathroom
2. Her new makeup of cheese fungi
Be sure to ask Amber about:
1.how the showers work in Rouen
2. the interesting toilet in Honfleur
Thursday, July 15, 2010
le 15 juillet
This morning we left the Campanile Hotel in Paris and headed for la Normandie. There was a lot of traffic as the French are headed on vacation. Our first stop was Giverny. We saw the home of Claude Monet. The bright colors in each room were delightful. His gardens and the lily pond were beautiful.We had lunch on the terrace.
Continuing on in Normandie, we came to the capital - Rouen. It is a delightful city with so much history. Our guide, Stephanie, gave us a tour of the cathedrale. Monet painted this facade in several different ways at different times of the day. Inside were beautiful stain glass windows and the sarcophagi of Roland, Duke of Normandy and Richard the Lionhearted. ( His heart is supposed to be in there also).Then she took us on a walking tour. The half-timbered houses took us back to the Middle Ages. Some are severely leaning to one side!
Some interesting stories for later-
1.Ask Anna Maria about briefly getting separated from our group.
2.Ask Mamie about thinking the TV remote was the phone.
3.Ask Maddie about trying to find the wake-up call.
For dinner we ate in a modern restaurant of Rouen. We sang to Maddie because it is her birthday. Joyeux anniversaire! She turned 13 today.
Continuing on in Normandie, we came to the capital - Rouen. It is a delightful city with so much history. Our guide, Stephanie, gave us a tour of the cathedrale. Monet painted this facade in several different ways at different times of the day. Inside were beautiful stain glass windows and the sarcophagi of Roland, Duke of Normandy and Richard the Lionhearted. ( His heart is supposed to be in there also).Then she took us on a walking tour. The half-timbered houses took us back to the Middle Ages. Some are severely leaning to one side!
Some interesting stories for later-
1.Ask Anna Maria about briefly getting separated from our group.
2.Ask Mamie about thinking the TV remote was the phone.
3.Ask Maddie about trying to find the wake-up call.
For dinner we ate in a modern restaurant of Rouen. We sang to Maddie because it is her birthday. Joyeux anniversaire! She turned 13 today.
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